1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a method for producing a touch input sensor and to a photosensitive conductive film that can be used in the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A touch input sensor such as a touch panel is used, for example, as an input device included in an electronic device such as a multifunctional mobile phone (smartphone) or a mobile game player. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-156655 (Patent Literature 1), a touch input sensor includes a transparent substrate (substrate 20) and transparent electrodes (transparent electrodes 103 and 104) for respectively detecting an X-coordinate and a Y-coordinate. The touch input sensor disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is produced through a process including stacking a photosensitive resin layer and a conductive film on a substrate, subjecting the resulting laminate to a pattern exposure, exposing uncured portions in the presence of oxygen, and subsequently performing developing to form transparent electrodes formed in a conductive pattern.
In the production method described in Patent Literature 1, transparent electrodes for detecting the X-coordinate are formed through the steps of “lamination, pattern exposure, exposure in the presence of oxygen, and developing”, and transparent electrodes for detecting the Y-coordinate are formed through steps similar to the above steps (refer to paragraph 0125 in Patent Literature 1). However, in this production method, for example, it is necessary to perform an exposure step four times in total, resulting in an increase in the number of steps. Furthermore, since it is necessary to remove a base film after the pattern exposure, there are many restrictions for apparatuses used in the method. Therefore, the production method may be disadvantageous in view of practical use. In addition, the alignment of a transparent electrode for detecting the X-coordinate and a transparent electrode for detecting the Y-coordinate is difficult in some cases.